When the merchant vessel Razoni sailed from Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa earlier this month with more than 26,000 tonnes of corn for global markets, she was rightly the subject of intense attention.
Her passage was the result of months of negotiations between Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN, including the global body’s humanitarian staff, logisticians and legal experts. For the first time since the war in Ukraine began six months ago, sea exports of Ukrainian crops were to resume, giving much-needed hope to millions of people beaten down by rising food prices and declining supplies, pushing many into hunger and even famine conditions.
And hope is so rare these days.
Conflicts. Hunger. The climate crisis. Droughts. Poverty. A pandemic. In more than 40 years of aid work, I don’t remember the world being so overwhelmed with problems and in such urgent need of action to solve them. Right now, a record 303 million people need humanitarian aid.
But despite this grim picture, I still hold on to hope. Why? Because over the years, I have seen that while conflicts and other crises bring out the worst, they also inspire the very best in humanity.
Even in the depths of despair and division, there are glimmers of hope – from new solutions to seemingly intractable problems, to acts of generosity and kindness that bring solace to the suffering.
Delivering hope and standing in solidarity are at the very heart of humanitarian action. Today, on World Humanitarian Day, we want to celebrate this spirit, for in some of the bleakest situations it may be all that people have.
It takes a village to help a community in crisis
There is a phrase: “It takes a village to raise a child.” Likewise, it takes a village to help a community in crisis. This village is made up of affected communities themselves, who are always first to respond when crisis strikes, backed up by a support system of national emergency services, local businesses and civil society, NGOs, UN agencies, and the Red Cross and Red Crescent family. Many are international aid workers, but the vast majority of humanitarians are from the crisis-affected countries themselves.
Every hour of every day, this humanitarian “village” steps up to organise relief deliveries, distribute cash, set up mobile health clinics and schools, build water pumps, airlift nutrition supplies, provide counselling support and so much more, supporting millions of people balancing on the edge of survival.
This village is populated by aid workers like Zuhra Wardak, a champion of girls’ education and gender issues, who was one of the first to return to work in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s takeover.
And Andrii, a driver with Ukrainian NGO Proliska, who risks his life to evacuate people from areas under bombardment.
And Amina Haji Elmi, a women’s rights champion in Somalia, who realised helping women was her mission after she and her family were displaced by conflict in that country.
There are also glimmers of hope at the wider level.
For instance, amid the relentless violence in Ukraine, we have seen thousands of volunteers assisting people trapped in war zones, and the generosity of communities that have welcomed Ukrainian refugees, echoing a long tradition of neighbourly support that is evident from Bangladesh to Colombia, from Jordan to Uganda.
We can draw inspiration from political progress made in brutal and bloody crises such as Yemen, where the truce has held, dissipating some of the constant fear of violence.
From improved access to people in need in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region, which, thanks to persistent and painstaking negotiations, has enabled aid convoys to reach people who desperately need food.
From the passing of Security Council resolution 2642 allowing cross-border aid to continue into north-western Syria, extending a lifeline for millions of people at least for the next few months.
And from the Navi Star, Polarnet, Razoni, Rojen and many other ships that carried Ukrainian crops to the rest of the world, offering a grain of hope to some of the 345 million people suffering from food shortages.
On World Humanitarian Day, let us take a moment to recognise all those who work tirelessly, day and night, to enact solidarity often at great personal sacrifice. They save lives in places that the world too often chooses to forget and where the risks are real: 461 aid workers were attacked last year while responding to humanitarian crises – 141 of them were killed, all but a few of them national staff.
The courage and conviction of these aid workers, always pushing for ways to reach people even in the worst of the worst of crises, inspire us to never give up hope.
As we mark this year’s World Humanitarian Day, we commemorate those we have lost. And we celebrate all humanitarians who carry on this noble mission together.
After all, it takes a village.
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
match info
Manchester United 3 (Martial 7', 44', 74')
Sheffield United 0
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BRIGHTON 0
MANCHESTER UNITED 3
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If you go...
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Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
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More coverage from the Future Forum
Florida: The critical Sunshine State
Though mostly conservative, Florida is usually always “close” in presidential elections. In most elections, the candidate that wins the Sunshine State almost always wins the election, as evidenced in 2016 when Trump took Florida, a state which has not had a democratic governor since 1991.
Joe Biden’s campaign has spent $100 million there to turn things around, understandable given the state’s crucial 29 electoral votes.
In 2016, Mr Trump’s democratic rival Hillary Clinton paid frequent visits to Florida though analysts concluded that she failed to appeal towards middle-class voters, whom Barack Obama won over in the previous election.
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
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Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Austria 2
Hinteregger (53'), Schopf (69')
Germany 1
Ozil (11')
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
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- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
